November 16–19 | San Antonio, Texas Welcome to ASOR’s 2016 Annual Meeting 2–5 History and Mission of ASOR 6–7 Meeting Highlights 7 Program-at-a-Glance 10–12 Schedule of Business Meetings, Receptions, and Events 13–15 Academic Program 18–45 Projects on Parade Poster Session 46–47 Contents Hotel and General Information 49 Members’ Meeting Agenda 50 of ASOR’s Legacy Circle 50 2016 Sponsors and Exhibitors 51–56 Ten Things To Do in San Antonio 58 Looking ahead to the 2017 Annual Meeting 59 Table Table Fiscal Year 2016 Honor Roll 60–61 Annual Fund Pledge Card 62 Excavation Grants and Fellowships Awarded 63 2015 Honors and Awards 65 ACOR Jordanian Travel Scholarships 66 2017 Annual Meeting Registration Form 67 2017 ASOR Membership Form 68 ASOR Journals 69 Institutional Members 72 ASOR Staff 73 ASOR Board of Trustees 74 ASOR Committees 75–77 Overseas Centers 78 Paper Abstracts 80–182 Poster Abstracts 182–190 Index of Sessions 191–193 Index of Presenters 194–198 Notes and Contacts 199–204 La Cantera Resort and Spa, Floor Plan 206–207 ISBN 978-0-89757-096-1 ASOR PROGRAM GUIDE 2016 | 1 American Schools of Oriental Research | 2016 Annual Meeting Welcome from ASOR President, Susan Ackerman Welcome to ASOR’s 2016 Annual Meeting! The Program Committee has once more done an incredible job, putting together a rich and vibrant program of sessions and posters, covering all the major regions of the Near East and wider Mediterranean from earliest times through the Islamic period. I am especially pleased that some of our newer sessions—for example, on the archaeology of the Kurdistan region of Iraq and on the archaeology of monasticism—continue to thrive, and I am also pleased that our program demonstrates more and more ASOR’s expanded geographical and cultural reach. Geographically, we will look west in the papers featured in the session “Sicily and the Levant”; to the east in the session on “New Research in Pre-Islamic Central Asia”; to the north in the session on “Archaeology of the Black Sea and the Caucasus,” and south in papers on “Archaeology of Arabia.” Chronologically, ASOR continues to expand its offerings in medieval Islamic archaeology, with a session, for example, on the “Archaeology of the Crusaders and their Neighbors.” The program in addition features a wealth of sessions on more thematic topics: for example, “Glass in the Ancient Near East,” “Material Culture and Identities in the Eastern Mediterranean,” “The Archaeology of Feasting and Foodways,” “Senses and Sensibility in the Near East,” “Materiality of Communication,” and “Landscapes of Settlement in the Ancient Near East.” Several sessions also focus on specific sites—both recent discoveries and insights from sites such as Lachish and Sepphoris, and retrospective looks at the many decades of excavations at sites like Tel Halif and Tel Dan. A somewhat similar session will focus on reexamining the materials from the excavations at Antioch eighty years ago. Other sessions, such as the session on “Archaeologists Engaging Global Challenges,” look forward, and, as in previous years, many of these sessions explore the promises of new technologies: GIS and remote sensing, cyber-archaeology, the use of modern photographic and digital technologies to enhance our understanding of ancient inscriptions, and isotopic investigations of ancient diet and mobility. Two sessions on “Career Options for ASOR Members” also address the commitment ASOR made in its recently adopted Strategic Plan for 2016–2020 to help our members—especially our members who are at the beginnings of their careers—negotiate the challenges of the rapidly changing environment of the academy. On Wednesday night, our program will feature, as always, our plenary address, to be delivered this year by Sarah Parcak, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Laboratory for Global Observation at the University of Alabama, Birmingham. Dr. Parcak is a National Geographic Society Archaeology Fellow, Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and a 2013 TED Senior Fellow. In 2016, she won the $1 million TED Prize, with which she intends to develop “an online interactive citizen science platform” that will allow any computer user—after some basic training—to use satellite images to search for and monitor the status of archaeological sites. This project, and Dr. Parcak’s related work in space archaeology, will be the subject of her plenary address, “Toward a 21st Century Archaeology of the Near East: Technology, Big Data, and Citizen Science.” Overall, our 2016 Annual Meeting promises to be packed with the best ASOR scholars have to offer. I look forward to seeing you all in San Antonio! Susan Ackerman ASOR President 2 | ASOR PROGRAM GUIDE 2016 November 16–19 | San Antonio, Texas Welcome from the Executive Director, Andrew Vaughn Welcome to our Annual Meeting in San Antonio! We are pleased to host ASOR’s 2016 Annual Meeting in a venue that “was built before Texas was Texas or the United States were united.” A vibrant city in the heart of southwestern U.S., San Antonio dates back to five missions that were founded in the 18th century, and these missions are now identified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Our conference hotel is an AAA Four Diamond Resort located on the edge of the Texas Hill Country, an area with storybook farms and ranches dotting the countryside. For those of us who live in colder climates, I am pleased that the entire area is known for its year-round mild climate. I’m confident that this will be one of our best venues ever. With Thanksgiving nearly upon us, there are so many individuals to whom thanks are due for giving their time to make this extraordinary program possible. This ambitious and wide-ranging meeting was overseen by one hard-working and talented committee in particular—the Annual Meeting Program Committee, led by co-chairs Geoff Emberling and Danielle Fatkin. Geoff and Danielle continue to do stellar work in their third year as co-chairs. These co-chairs, and the Program Committee members with whom they have worked, are dedicated, diligent, enthusiastic, and committed to putting together an exciting educational program of more than 450 papers and poster presentations! A full listing of all committees can be found on the ASOR Committees pages of this program book. Many thanks are also due to the session chairs and presenters who will bring the program to life. I wish to thank several groups in particular for their generous financial support of receptions at this Annual Meeting. The Foundation for Biblical Archaeology and its director, Sheila Bishop, provided crucial financial support for student scholarships. The American Institute of Iranian Studies awarded ASOR a generous grant to provide funding for two scholars from Iran to particpate in the meeting. In addition, I would like to thank all of our exhibitors and encourage you to stop by and visit the displays. We would like to give our special thanks to this year’s Annual Meeting sponsors, ISD (Platinum), Eisenbrauns (Gold), and Brill (Bronze). Last, but not least, I would like to extend special thanks and recognition to the ASOR staff. Their hard work and dedication throughout the year makes our Annual Meeting possible. Please mark your calendars for our 2017 Annual Meeting, which will be held at the Westin Boston Waterfront in the Seaport District of Boston, MA from November 15–18, 2017. Please visit the meeting website at www.asor.org/am/index. html for details. We once again anticipate a record attendance and full hotel, so I encourage you to make your reservations early. Please let me, or any member of the ASOR staff, know if there is anything we can do to make your experience in San Antonio a pleasant and rewarding one. I hope you enjoy this year’s Annual Meeting. Andrew G. Vaughn ASOR Executive Director ASOR PROGRAM GUIDE 2016 | 3 American Schools of Oriental Research | 2016 Annual Meeting Welcome from the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Richard Coffman Bienvenido. Welcome to San Antonio, the seventh largest city in the United States. As a native Texan, I am proud to welcome you to the Lone Star State for this year’s Annual Meeting. San Antonio is one of America’s truly unique cities. From the Alamo to the Riverwalk to the museums to the restaurants to the surrounding Texas hill country, San Antonio provides an embarrassment of historic, culinary, and cultural riches. Speaking of an embarrassment of cultural riches, we have them right here at the La Cantera Resort. This year, we once again had a record number of abstracts submitted for consideration—which means the schedule is chock full of presentations by scores of far-flung archaeologists, biblical and Islamic scholars, anthropologists, historians, conservators/curators, and other interdisciplinary specialists working in the Near Eastern and Mediterranean regions. They have discovered a lot of new stuff since we last convened, and are champing at the bit to tell us what they found and why it is important. But there is also business to conduct. And a new strategic plan to implement. And a new logo and website to unveil. And cultural heritage to protect. While we come together to learn and reconnect, we also come together to review from where we have come, and chart our path forward. This is an exciting and forward thinking time to be an ASOR member. The good news is that ASOR is growing, our finances are rock solid, the Annual Meeting continues its upward trajectory—in terms of quality, quantity, and prestige—and the fellowships we fund are increasing in number and amount. None of this, of course, is possible without your time and your talents.